National Tango Day!

If you’re in Buenos Aires that is.

It’s a big day for actors.

–          The French actor Jean Marais was born today in 1913. Mr. Marais was in over a hundred films in his career, but the one that stays with me the most is his portrayal of the Beast in Jean Cocteau’s beautiful Beauty and the Beast. If you’ve not seen this film, you have that to look forward to.

–          Rita Moreno (1931) and Teri Garr (1944) were both born today.

–          Today is also the birthday of the star of The Informer, Victor McLaglen (1883) and sultry damsel in distress of Play Misty for Me, Donna Mills.

Other birthdays of interest;

–          Today is also the birthday of J. Frank Wilson in 1941. Mr. Wilson was the front man of the recording group; J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers. Their big hit was “Last Kiss”. This song was just one of a whole passel of songs about dead teenagers.

(I have to put in an aside here for my young seriously singing friends, especially Mr. Jonathan Greene. You guys just need to think of these songs as American kindertotenlieder…sorta.)

You can’t make this stuff up. This short-lived (pun quite deliberate) genre included such maudlin classics as “Tell Laura I Love Her”, “Patches”, “Teen Angel”, and “The Leader of the Pack”. At least the last song had a semblance of a beat and a cool crash effect. A couple of decades later, Meat Loaf tried to get the genre back on the road with his “Bat Out of Hell”, but it proved to be another dead end. Anyway, happy birthday to J. Frank Wilson!

–          Today gives us three more birthdays of musicians who have nothing else in common; composer Hector Berlioz (1803), blues singer Big Mama Thornton (1926), and jazz stylist McCoy Tyner (1938). I doubt if any these folks ever recorded tangos or dead teenager songs.

Drink 4cast 4 2day.

Since it’s National Tango Day and most us are not in Buenos Aires, we’ll have to confine our celebration to having a;

Mango Tango Cocktail (makes 2 because “it takes 2”)

3 oz. Ron Diaz Light Rum

1 ½ cups Cubed Mangoes

3 tbsp. Fresh Lime Juice

1 oz. Triple Sec

4 tsp. Sugar

2 cups Ice Cubes

Blend in a blender until smooth and serve.

(go ahead – sing it and weep) “Where or where can my baby be? The Lord took her away from me.”

Cheers?

Roger

12/11/12.